And thus ends the thrown-together, repurposed-at-the-last-moment bit of deadline-meeting desperation that was “Mysterious Dumbass.” While I met the short-term challenge of not making Empowered vol. 3 flirt with lateness, I would’ve been much better off in the long run by biting the bullet of potential lateness and never attempting this ridiculous feat of MacGyver-ish narrative kludging. As I’ve noted before, the Emp/Thugboy mutual sexy cosplay story of “When Titans Fornicate” should’ve gone here—and an image from it appeared on the back cover of the published volume—but wound up getting punted all the way back to Empowered vol. 5, as I didn't think I could finish it in time for vol. 3.

Bad call on my part, and one I've regretted ever since. Oh, well.

Next time, we move on to a much better story, one that might be my personal favorite from the volume: "Witless Minions 4-Eva," an episode exploring Thugboy's perhaps surprisingly shady past.

-Adam Warren